Gauhati Wants to be Part of IPL

The Gauhati High Court has heard a PIL that questions the "legality of tender notice issued by BCCI on October 14." The PIL has sent a very clear message to the BCCI: Gauhati wants to be part of the IPL.

It's not even been 24 hours since the BCCI announced that Sun TV had won the right to the new IPL franchise (that would replace the Deccan Chargers) when they've been bowled their first doosra. A PIL from Guahati has sent a very clear message to the BCCI: Gauhati wants to be part of the IPL. The Gauhati High Court has reportedly heard a PIL that questions the "legality of tender notice issued by BCCI on October 14, 2012 which called for bids from new cities such as Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamshala, Indore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Vizag excluding the North-Eastern City." The High Court said that the BCCI is welcome to continue with the bidding process but it needs to make Gauhati part of the IPL by including it in the invitation bids.

The PIL was filed by Gauhati resident, Ghisa Lal Agarwal. Agarwal told reporters that it was unfair tha Gauhati was not being included in the list when Gauhati has already hosted international matches in the past. “We have been noticing that BCCI has become a tool in the hands of a few influential people and (is) ignoring the sporting interest of backward regions. They have been ignoring the Northeast for long.” Justice BD Agarwal heard the case and directed the next hearing for November 7. Until then, the question of whether Sun TV owns the new IPL franchise remains anybody's guess.